Ironing board



Apr. 10, 11923.

R. MORRISON ET AL IRONING BOARD 1922 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Mar. 10

Son, a. m,

ATTORNEYS Apr. M1923;

IRONI NG BOARD 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Mar. 10, 1922 l/WE/i/TOR WITNESSES irisop, .OswuM, By A/ HAP ion ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 110, 1923.

ROBERT ANGUS MORRISON AND FRANKLIN LAURANCE OSWALD, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

IRONING BOARD.

Application filed March 10, 1922. Serial No. 542,793.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ROBERT ANGUS MORRISON and FRANKLIN LAURANCE Os- WALD, citizens of the United States, and residents of Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ironing Boards, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ironing boards and more especially to folding ironing boards supported upon three legs. Heretofore there has been much objection to folding ironing boards of the above character due to the inability to support the ironing board surface so as to remain solid and firm whensubjected to the pressure and strain when in use and also because of the employment of fastening devices to retain the legs and braces thereof in extended or unfolded positions. Such fastening devices have usually been in the form of hooks or other attachments and have been very difficult to fasten, while due to this difiiculty or failure to secure the same through inadvertence or otherwise, the ironing board has been left insecure and when used, resulted in the collapsing of the board with disastrous results, and certainly with considerable annoyance.

It is therefore among the objects of the present invention to provide a folding ironing board with three legs which folds and unfolds easily; which requires no fastening means such as hooks or other similar attachments of the nature above pointed out; which when unfolded or extended will have the necessary rigidity and solidity to facilitate the ironing operation without requiring unnecessary effort on the part of the operator; which will obviate the possibility of collapse of the board when once set up for use and in which the entire ironing surface is solid under the iron so that pressure applied at any point on its surface will not tip the board, while all springing or shifting of the board longitudinally or laterally will be prevented; which requires no wiring or bracing to interfere with the ironer standing up close to the board, thuspermitting the ironer to stand directly over her work; which makes pos sible a straight downward pressure at all times so as to relieve the operator of strain; which is of open ended construction soas to ermit the ironing of a full length skirt wit out lifting or moving the board or otherwise changing the position thereof, and WhlCh is relatively simple in construction, strong, and durable in use and economical to manufacture.

\Yith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and novel arrangement and operation of the various parts as will be hereinafter more fully set forth and specifically claimed.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved ironing board,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevation thereof, portions being broken away,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a link or strut employed with the device.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the ironing table and board partly folded, and

Figure 5 is a bottom view of the device folded.

Referring to the drawings in detail, in which for the sake of illustration is shown the preferred embodiment of the invention, and in which like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, our improved ironing board is shown as comprising a board proper 10 of suitable shape, but preferably flat and tapered toward the free end thereof designated at 11, which end is also preferably rounded in convex formation, while the 0pposite end is square and cut transversely or at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the board as designated at 12.

Mounted beneath the board 10 adjacent to the end 12 are blocks 13 which are apertured to form bearings for a pivot pin 14 to which the upper ends of the legs 15 are pivoted. These ends are also out on arcs concentric to the pivots as shown at 16, being thus rounded to allow pivotal movement of the legs toward and away from the bottom surface of the board, the legs being also disposed face-wise toward each other and connected by spaced horizontal upper and lower cross strips or braces 16 and 17, thus connecting the legs 15 of the table or board in rigid downwardly divergent relation.

Pivotally mounted upon the pin 14 is the other leg 18, the same comprising the front leg of the device as distinguished from the rear legs 15 and being made up of spaced strips 19 disposed in face-wise relation toward each other and having their u per ends pivotally engaged with the pin 14. ald upper ends are also beveled or cut at an angle as shown at 20 to squarely engage the under surface of the board 10 and said strips contact with the inner faces of the bearing blocks 13, while the legs 15 straddle the strips 19 of the leg 18 and the bearing blocks 13, the strips 19 being held outwardly in contact with the blocks by means of a cross strip 21 connecting the same at the under side and intermediately of the ends thereof. The strips 19 are also disposed in upwardly divergent or downwardly convergent relation and the lower ends thereof are beveled in the opposite direction as indicated at 22 so that the lower ends are parallel or substantially so with the upper ends of said strips. The strips 19 are connected near their lower ends by suitable transverse fastening means 23, which holds the lower ends in contact and also prevents them from spreading apart.

Mounted at the bottom of the board 10 in termediately of the ends thereof area pair of spaced bearing blocks 24 between which there is pivoted an upper section 25 of a collapsible brace 26, the pivotal connection being effected through the medium of a transverse pivot pin 27 engaged through suitable apertures in the blocks 24 and the section 25, while the lower end of the section 25- is hinged or otherwise pivotally connected to the lower section 28 of said brace as through the medium of a strap hinge 29 so that the brace can break or fold upwardly while at the same time any tendency to break or fold downwardly by reason of the adjacent ends of the sections mutually contacting with each other will be prevented. In this manner, the sections produce a substantially rigid member when the sections are in alinement and the sections are coextensive with each other when folded. The lower end of the brace 26 has pivotal connection with the frame composed by the legs 15 and strips 16 and 17, and for this purpose a pair of spaced parallel strips or cleats 30 extend vertically between the strips 16 and 17 and are connected thereto at the upper and lower extremities of the strips 30 as indicated at 31 and intermediately of the ends of the horizontal strips 16 and 17. The lower end of the section 28 extends between the strips 30 and is pivotally connected thereto as at 32, so that the brace 26 may fold upwardly but is limited in its downward position by contact of the lower end of the strip 28 with the cross strip 17 and of the upper end of the section 25 with the bottom of the board.

The upper end of the collapsible brace 26 and thus the upper end of the section 25 is beveled as indicated at 33 so that when the brace is extended, said end will be vertically disposed. Rounded upper end 34 of a brace 35, which upper end movably fits between the blocks 24: but is not pivotally connected thereto, acts as a wedge against upper end of section 25 and top 10. The lower end of the brace 35 is pivoted to the inclined or forward leg 18 between the strips 19 thereof, as indicated at 36 and extends substantially at right angles or in obtuse angled relation to the brace 26 and the uppersection 25 to which it is connected by a metallic link or strut 37. This link has its ends 38 directed at right angles to the length of the link and in the same direction parallel to each other for pivotal engagement with apertures 39 in the section 25 and the brace 35 so as to prevent spreading of the braces 26 and 35 as well as to limit the movements thereof toward each other.

When the device is in use, the parts occupy the positions shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the frame produced'by the legs 15 and strips 16 and 17 bracing the same being extended downwardly and slightly rearwardly so that the brace 26 is extended with the sections 25 and 28 thereof in alinement. The brace 35 is also swung downwardly with the leg 18 and braced in position at its upper end, while the link 37 maintains the parts in this relation in conjunction with the hinge connection 29. When it is desired to collapse or fold the ironing board or table, it is tilted on the legs 15 in a rearward direction and the brace 26 is pushed upwardly to break the joint 29 so that the section 28 folds between the strips or cleats 30 in an upward direction and the section 25 moves against the bottom of the board. a The legs 15 and the section 28 are then free to swing upwardly beneath the board and upon the section 25, with which the section 28 contacts. During this movement the brace 35 becomes displaced from the upper end of thebrace 26, by reason of the link 37 and the upwardly swinging movement of the section 25 on its pivot 27, so that the brace 35 may be swung downwardly into alinement with the link, thus permitting the front leg 18 to swing upwardlyon the pivot 14 to assume a position beneath the bottom of the board 10.

From the foregoing it will be seen that we have provided a three-legged folding ironing board which folds and unfolds easily, the parts coming together true and solid, while pushing down on the brace 35 collapses the board and pulling up on said brace extends the table or sets it up. When set up, the ironing board or tableis absolutely solid without hooking or other fastening. It can also be moved and lifted to any part of the room witthout fear of collapse. once it is folded. its solidity being secured by the tension of the two braces 26 and 35, the brace from the rear legs and the one from the front leg coming together firm and true. Where it is necessary that a hook or other attachment should be used, as is common with ordinary ironing tables or boards, this is often forgotten with disastrous results through collapse of the board when ironing. Furthermore, it is not always easy to secure the hook or other fastening, which makes it diflicult to set up a board that uses such a feature. We have eliminated all of these objections by having the loose part, namely the brace spring solidly into place as above described. Furthermore, the entire ironing surface is solid under the iron and pressure applied at any point of its surface will not tip the board, this being due to the fact that all points are so braced that no matter where pressure is applied, proper support is provided while the pressure as in ironing, is equally distributed on all three legs, due to the arrangement of bracing employed so that the board at all times sets squarely on the floor. In addition, the spread of the rear legs prevents any side to side motion of the ironing board or table and the bracing between the front and rear legs prevents all forward or backward movement so that the board is always solid under the ironers hand. Another important advantage is that no wiring or bracing is provided between the legs adjacent to the floor or otherwise to interfere with a person standing up close to the board, this permitting one to stand directly 35 over the work, which makes it possible to exert a straight downward pressure at all times, thus relieving the operator of a tremendous lot of strain. The open end construction permits the ironing of a full length skirt without lifting or moving the board, in other words, you can iron over the entire surface without change of posi tion.

lVhile we have shown what we now consider to be the preferred embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that changes in the details of construction, form and arrangement of arts shown, may be modified so long as t e same is included within the scope of the device as claimed.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is An ironing board or table comprising a board, a frame 1 i' oted beneath the board at one end, a supporting member pivoted to the board at the said one end of the latter and adapted to extend forwardly and downwardly, a collapsible brace between the frame and the board in spaced relation to the pivotal connection of the frame and supporting member with the board, a brace pivotally connected to the supporting member near the lower end thereof and movably associated with the board adjacent the upper end of the collapsible brace, and a link connecting the last named brace with the collapsible brace.

ROBERT ANGUS MORRISON. FRANKUN LAURANCE OSWALD. 

